Here's something you might be interested in.
Jonathan Winters once talked about how everyone thinks they're funny. It was on an interview with 60 Minutes. I believe they were actually doing a story on Robin Williams, but since Williams went on and on about Jonathan, they interviewed him. At one point, Winters said he heard about a guy that everyone thought was so funny. The guy put his thumbs in his ears and said "I'm a moose." And Winters just sat there, wondering what was so funny about that.
I can understand why everyone thinks they're funny. You tend to hang around people that are like you. So...if it's someone like Beavis, well...he's hanging around someone that's a butthead, and would think stupid things are funny (I hate to admit, that show actually was funny).
So, it becomes this thing where dumb people don't know they're dumb, and they think they're sense of humor is funny.
But what amazes me are the people that get talk shows, because "they're funny."
When Letterman first started his show, my friends in junior high loved him. I loved Carson (oh shoot...older people know I mean Johnny, younger people probably think I mean that tool Carson Daily)
I didn't see the humor in Letterman. He'd throw a watermellon off the building, or put a camera on a monkeys back. Big deal. But I ended up becoming a Letterman fan (even winning a bet with friends that I could write something Letterman would use, by sending in viewer mail, which he read).
I used to like Craig Kilborn when he did a late night show. I can't believe how bad his replacement, Craig Ferguson is. He does goofy facial expressions and accents, and none of it works. He does a good interview, but that's about it.
Lately he's being showing a picture of Salvador Dali, and trying to make the same face. It's lame.
I have a few friends that told me how funny Chelsea Handler is (Chelsea Lately). Her book was interesting and had a few laughs, but her show is awful. There's nothing funny about it. Her sarcastic, I-don't-give-a-crap attitude could be funny. But it's not. Her constant talk about how drunk she gets got old quickly. And the funniest thing about her, is she tries to do a show like "Talk Soup" (which is very funny; each host they've had, Aisha Tyler, Joel Hale, Greg Kinnear...all of them great)
Yet, Chelsea Lately is getting great ratings.
I don't think Jay Leno is all that great, but he does a decent monologue. And he was a great stand-up, so I don't knock him as being "unfunny". His show just isn't for me.
The latest is Jimmy Fallon. He was funny on Saturday Night Live, but his show is awful. And, I don't buy this whole thing about letting him get his feet wet. I thought Conan O'Brien and Jimmy Kimmel were funny from day one. Sure, they felt awkward doing their shows the first few weeks, and you could tell. But they were funny.
Last night when I got home from a party and turned on Fallon, I was surprised that he actually did a bit that worked. He used the rap name Tu Spock, and was doing a rap with other people from Star Trek. Some would say doing a rap parody has been played to death, but it worked.
It certainly worked a lot better than when he gets people in his audience to lick stuff for $10, or shows a surprised audience members face and than what their ipod has on it.
Jonathan Winters once talked about how everyone thinks they're funny. It was on an interview with 60 Minutes. I believe they were actually doing a story on Robin Williams, but since Williams went on and on about Jonathan, they interviewed him. At one point, Winters said he heard about a guy that everyone thought was so funny. The guy put his thumbs in his ears and said "I'm a moose." And Winters just sat there, wondering what was so funny about that.
I can understand why everyone thinks they're funny. You tend to hang around people that are like you. So...if it's someone like Beavis, well...he's hanging around someone that's a butthead, and would think stupid things are funny (I hate to admit, that show actually was funny).
So, it becomes this thing where dumb people don't know they're dumb, and they think they're sense of humor is funny.
But what amazes me are the people that get talk shows, because "they're funny."
When Letterman first started his show, my friends in junior high loved him. I loved Carson (oh shoot...older people know I mean Johnny, younger people probably think I mean that tool Carson Daily)
I didn't see the humor in Letterman. He'd throw a watermellon off the building, or put a camera on a monkeys back. Big deal. But I ended up becoming a Letterman fan (even winning a bet with friends that I could write something Letterman would use, by sending in viewer mail, which he read).
I used to like Craig Kilborn when he did a late night show. I can't believe how bad his replacement, Craig Ferguson is. He does goofy facial expressions and accents, and none of it works. He does a good interview, but that's about it.
Lately he's being showing a picture of Salvador Dali, and trying to make the same face. It's lame.
I have a few friends that told me how funny Chelsea Handler is (Chelsea Lately). Her book was interesting and had a few laughs, but her show is awful. There's nothing funny about it. Her sarcastic, I-don't-give-a-crap attitude could be funny. But it's not. Her constant talk about how drunk she gets got old quickly. And the funniest thing about her, is she tries to do a show like "Talk Soup" (which is very funny; each host they've had, Aisha Tyler, Joel Hale, Greg Kinnear...all of them great)
Yet, Chelsea Lately is getting great ratings.
I don't think Jay Leno is all that great, but he does a decent monologue. And he was a great stand-up, so I don't knock him as being "unfunny". His show just isn't for me.
The latest is Jimmy Fallon. He was funny on Saturday Night Live, but his show is awful. And, I don't buy this whole thing about letting him get his feet wet. I thought Conan O'Brien and Jimmy Kimmel were funny from day one. Sure, they felt awkward doing their shows the first few weeks, and you could tell. But they were funny.
Last night when I got home from a party and turned on Fallon, I was surprised that he actually did a bit that worked. He used the rap name Tu Spock, and was doing a rap with other people from Star Trek. Some would say doing a rap parody has been played to death, but it worked.
It certainly worked a lot better than when he gets people in his audience to lick stuff for $10, or shows a surprised audience members face and than what their ipod has on it.